ESPN standalone service is coming ... some time

Something that I've been wanting for quite some time will be happening. But not soon.

Cord Cutters News had an article this week that covered a point in the Disney earning call that was of interest to me and some other sports fans.

According to the report, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that ESPN would offer a stand alone streaming service in the future, but made it clear it would not happen soon. Just eventually:

When asked about the future of ESPN as a direct streaming service during Disney's 1st quarter 2023 earnings call, CEO Bob Iger said, "Regarding ESPN and when we might make the shift, if you're asking me, is the shift inevitable? The answer is yes, but I'm not going to give you any sense of when that could be, because we have to do it, obviously, at a time that really makes sense for the bottom line. And we're just not there yet," Bob Iger said. "And that's not just about how many subscribers we could get, it's also about what is the pricing power of ESPN, which obviously ties to the menu of sports that that they've licensed."

This is not the first time Disney has hinted at offering ESPN directly to consumers, but this is the most forceful we can remember. Clearly, Disney and others are looking closely at when and how to jump off of the cable TV bundle and go a la carte.

This is good news, insofar as confirming it will happen. This is bad news in that it will not happen any time soon.

Personally, I'm ready for a standalone ESPN subscription in my Streaming Life. And many others are as well.